


A Panther, A Fox, and Their Artist

by Nikotheamazingspoonklepto



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Winter Exchange 2018, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Fluff, Fox!Neil, M/M, Multi, Panther!Jean, artist!andrew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:26:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikotheamazingspoonklepto/pseuds/Nikotheamazingspoonklepto
Summary: On a cold winter day, shapeshifters Jean and Neil waiting (im)patiently at home for their human mate Andrew to return, looking forward to spending time with the man who always looked past what they are.





	A Panther, A Fox, and Their Artist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [poetatertot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetatertot/gifts).



> Hello Spud! (and the rest of you readers, but mainly Spud) It is I, Niko. I got you for the winter exchange and I really hope I did you proud! Please enjoy this cute little fic just for you!

Jean gently pats Neil’s paw when the red fox reaches towards the mixing bowl he is adding ingredients to. Neil huffs, curling his bushy tail around himself, paws placed on top. Jean smiles and strokes his head before wiping his hand on his apron and adds the cocoa powder to the mix, then starts cracking eggs. A glance at the clock tells him they have about forty-five minutes before Andrew returns from running errands in town. Long enough for him to bake these brownies for their partner so that when he arrives, he’ll smell them.

“ _I hope Andrew remembers milk_ ,” Jean muses in French, cracking a second egg into the bowl and tosses the shells, grabbing the whisk. Neil whines softly and he hums. “ _I know, mon coeur, he never forgets anything_.” This makes Neil yawn and lay down on the counter, stretching a paw towards the bowl, whining when Jean picks it up for better control while mixing. “ _You’re bored, go do something before you start causing mischief_.” Jean lifts a brow as Neil’s tail thumps against the counter, annoyed, demanding attention. “ _Don’t start, we wanted to surprise Drew_.”

Neil huffs and rolls off of the counter, shifting as he falls and lands on all fours before he scurries off. Jean hears his paws quietly tapping along the hardwood flooring fade as they hit the surface of an area carpet, seconds later he hears footsteps softly padding through the living room. Music begins playing on the house’s surround sound and Jean relaxes again, pulling the greased pan towards him to pour the batter into it.

The soft, but cheery music has him singing along as he is placing the pan on the center rack of the oven. Oven mitts are discarded on the counter in favor of picking up the mixing bowl and utensils to clean up, carrying them to the sink. Two slender arms encircle his waist while he’s adjusting the temperature of the water and chuckles warmly.

“ _Mon coeur, can you really find nothing to do?_ ”

“ _Play with me Jean, it’s too cold to go out and Drew didn’t paint yet today_ ,” Neil’s voice is muffled into the soft material of Jean’s sweater, a stark contrast to Neil’s nude body. He’d be bare as well if he wasn’t working with a hot oven.

Jean looks to the window that stretches from ceiling to floor in their ‘cabin in the woods’ that Andrew bought for them, finding the frost on the edges of the glass. The entire house is open and well lit so that Neil and Jean wouldn’t have to hide in the forest, not have to be in the shadows. Jean sighs and gives Neil’s hands a squeeze and sets to washing the dishes, Neil presses closer, allowing Jean to feel his heat and smiles, singing along to the music again.

“ _Vive le vent, vive le vent…_ ” Jean smiles through the words, amused that Neil always chose such traditional music for them, or so that’s what Neil thought. It’s the thought that counts, he thinks.

“ _Vive le vent d’hiver,_ ” Neil mumbles into his back and Jean breathes out a laugh.

“ _Qui s’en va sifflant, soufflant…_ ” Jean continues and rinses the dishes, picking up the towel to dry his hands and squeezes Neil’s hands, turning around in his grasp. Two piercing blue eyes glitter with affection as they look up at him. “ _Dans les grands sapins verts._ ”

“ _I like it when you sing, mon trésor,_ ” Neil’s lips curl into a smile, Jean leans down to kiss it and turns them slowly in a dance, Neil’s arms wrapped around his neck.

“ _I know, mon coeur,_ ” Jean pulls him closer, his smaller partner stepping onto his bare feet and pillowing his head on his chest. Feeling warm and content Jean moves them to the music with his head on top of Neil’s, continuing to sing; “ _Boules de neige et Jour de l'An. Et Bonne Année grand-mère..._ ”

They continue to dance, Jean’s arms holding his partner close and sings until the end of the song when Neil kisses him. When they part, Neil nips his jaw with a wink and darts away, shifting midair and vanishes around the corner. Jean clicks his tongue and looks back at the time left on the stove, twenty-seven minutes left. He looks back and sees Neil’s sharp nose peeking around the corner and caves, stripping off his sweater.

“ _Alright, mon coeur, you win, five, four_ -” Neil squeaks and zips away, Jean grins as he listens to his paws skitter across the hardwood floor, continuing to count down as he sheds the rest of his clothing in a heap on the floor, “ _three, two-_ ” Jean dives through the entrance, shifting into his truest form, a long, sleek black panther and growls playfully, a low rumbling sound that soothes his partners.

‘ _One. Ready or not, here I come,_ ’ Jean purrs as he slinks around the corner, his grey eyes taking in their living room. Their home is filled with their scents, making it hard for him to track Neil, but he could have sworn he heard him scurry this way- oh…

Jean looks up and spots a tuft of red fur peeking out from the wide ledge running high up along the wall. He trots heavily towards the hall and up the staircase and hears Neil’s paws as they shift, scurrying elsewhere. Jean growls playfully and launches onto one of the beams stretching from wall to wall, under the high peaked ceiling.

‘ _Gonna get you!_ ’ Jean purrs as he watches Neil’s tail vanish around the corner, running along the ledges. With the exquisite grace of his panther form, Jean sprints along the beams and leaps to the next and then the next, chasing his partner. Neil is in his sights, ricocheting from ledge to ledge as Jean gains on him. Neil is _fast_ , his small fox form allowing him to practically fly through the air. Jean’s heavier frame, despite his agility and grace, is normally no match for Neil’s speed, but this isn’t a real race and Neil isn’t going as fast as he could be and Jean knows he will catch him.

A playful screech emits from Neil’s lungs as Jean snaps at his legs when he gets close, a rumbling growl letting him know Jean is going to grab him. Then Neil jumps off the ledge and lands on the soft cushion of the couch in the living room, darting away. Jean lunges after him, heart thundering when the fox suddenly stops and he crashes into him, the pair tumbling across the hardwood floor.

For a split second, Jean is worried he crushed Neil, but his neck is playfully nipped and he wrestles with him, biting at Neil’s ears. They are rolling on the floor as a key slides into the lock on the front door, Jean perks up but Neil isn’t allowing for any distractions, taking advantage and biting his scruff, jerking his head while growling ‘viciously’.

“Something smells good,” Andrew comments as he walks into the foyer, the sound of his snow boots tapping along the floor, followed by the rustling of shopping bags lets Jean know their partner is inside.

This makes Neil finally stop biting and he whines, his fluffy tail thumping against Jean’s side. Jean huffs at his excitement, grunting when Neil uses his abdomen as a launching pad to sprint towards the foyer. Jean whines and mewls as Neil runs ahead, chasing him again, excited to see their partner.

“Get into trouble while I was gone?” Andrew asks as they zoom towards him, his muscular arms open in greeting. He catches Neil as he launches into his arms, whimpering and whining as he nuzzles into the space between Andrew’s shoulder and head, nosing the scarf around his neck. Jean stands up on his hind legs, towering over him even in this form and wraps his large front paws around Andrew’s shoulders. As he is nuzzling his head, he knocks off the black beanie covering his soft blond hair that he noses affectionately, breathing in the relaxing scent of cold winter air and his shampoo.

“Sky,” Jean purrs at his partners' nickname for him. “Why are you wet- were you two wrestling again?” Andrew asks as one of his gloved hands stroke over Jean’s thick fur where Neil was biting, making his nerves sing happily. He can’t communicate with Andrew like this, so he gives him a long lick on the side of his face, purring as Andrew huffs in annoyance, licking his face again. “I’ll take that as a yes— hey, enough,” he finally tugs Jean’s fur as Jean licks him a third time.

“What are you making?” Andrew asks once Jean lets go, shifting back into human form again so that Andrew still has to look up at him, the human not even phased by his nudity.

“I know your nose is good, you most likely smelled the chocolate in the driveway,” Jean reminds gently and bends to collect the numerous shopping bags, but doesn’t miss the soft look in Andrew’s eyes. “We made you brownies,” he gives in, seeing the milk and enough ingredients for them to make dinner for at least the next week in the bags.

He sees Neil shift in Andrew’s arms, Andrew adjusting his grip with ease, holding human Neil bridal style with Neil’s arms around his neck, playing with his hair. “Jean did, I tried to steal some of the batter, but he wouldn’t let me.” Neil grins unabashedly when he’s given a scolding look from Andrew, making Jean smile as he follows it up with a kiss.

“Rouge just doesn't know how to keep himself busy,” Jean lifts a brow at Neil, daring him to argue, making him pout. “ _Come now, mon coeur, let Drew remove his coat and then will you put away the shopping for me_?” Should give him something to do at least.

“ _Fine_ ,” Neil sighs and tugs Andrew’s hair, prompting Andrew to set him down. Neil pecks Andrew on the cheek and then Jean before he takes the bags from Jean and disappears around the corner into the living room once more.

“It’s supposed to storm pretty badly for the next few days, I got enough food to get us through to New Years,” Andrew informs Jean as he pulls off his gloves and unzips his coat, hazel eyes darkening when Jean unwinds his scarf for him.

“Very good, but our Rouge isn’t going to like us being cooped up inside,” Jean sighs, turning to hang up the scarf, but is stopped by Andrew’s hands. He locks his grey eyes on Andrew’s face as the scarf that Jean knitted for him is tugged from his hands and draped around his neck. Jean has to purr when pulled down to kiss his human lover, his long fingers threading into his hair and enjoys the feeling of Andrew’s slightly chapped, cold lips sliding with his own. Andrew's version of a thank you.

“I’m sure we can find ways to keep him busy,” Andrew murmurs against his lips before pressing another peck, just as the oven timer goes off.

“ _Mon trésor! The timer went off_!” Neil shouts from the kitchen, sounding like his head is inside their refrigerator.

Jean rolls his eyes at the same time Andrew does and hums quietly, kissing Andrew once more before standing upright. “Come get warm, we’ll make hot cocoa for you,” Jean hangs up Andrew’s scarf and heads back towards the kitchen, feeling his lover’s eyes on him until completely out of sight and can’t help but feel good about it.

 

~

 

Jean tries to hold as still as possible, laying in a half-moon curl, amongst the faux grass, plants, and rocks in Andrew’s home art studio, his silky black fur gleaming with the lighting used to mimic sunshine. Neil is curled delicately against his side in human form, the light making his auburn curls shine like his fur where his head is pillowed on his side. Since the designated audience for the book Andrew is working is for children, Neil is wearing clothes for once; cargo shorts and a blue t-shirt accenting his eyes, hiking boots on his feet. A summer scene for Andrew's children's series; The Fox and the Panther. This next installment in the adventures of two shapeshifters is due to be released in late spring. Despite the storm outside, it is not odd for them to doing this right now.

The series is sold in the fiction section under the humans’ noses, much to their benefit.

“Neil, thread your fingers- yes,” Andrew orders as he sets up to do his painting- they’ve already posed for him to sketch this scene out on a large canvas. Their partner, their artist, has an eidetic memory, as Andrew has explained; however, even with a perfect image in his head, having them there to model the scene helps him capture the best possible image. Andrew never elaborated further than that, but if Jean had to guess, having them here helped to catch the fine details one wouldn’t be able to remember all that easily.

Both he and Neil are endlessly impressed with Andrew’s skill, even if Andrew brushes off their compliments, failing to hide his gratitude in his eyes. The two shapeshifters learned to adapt to Andrew’s tendency to hide his emotions, eventually getting him to open up. They were able to get him to trust them when they revealed their abilities with much apprehension. They fell in love when they saw Andrew struggle to hide his own affections toward both of their forms, both human and animal, uncaring of what the world thought. As a writer and painter, Andrew asked if he could use them in his works and it turns out it was the perfect idea and made Andrew a fortune that he shares with both of them. He bought this cabin, deep in the woods to protect them, so that they may be themselves, freely, without prying or judgmental eyes on them.

Jean sighs contently, his chest moving Neil as it contracts. Neil’s fingers feel good as they scratch his fur lovingly and he flicks his eyes at him, watching Neil smile when blue met grey.

“Hold still,” Andrew reminds them, looking down at the scene through his stylish wire-framed glasses. He looks handsome in his black sweatpants, a tight shirt and a paint-stained smock with a pencil behind his ear and paintbrush in his hand. The palette in his other hand has a few different colors of paint applied. Jean shifts back into position as does Neil and Andrew dips his brush into two colors, mixing and then paints with short strokes onto the large canvas on his easel.

Jean could watch Andrew for hours as he paints, the way his tongue licks his lips in thought and sometimes paint ends up in his hair and all over his hands and clothes. He could watch him for hours if Neil didn’t get squirmy too fast. Half of the time the fox shapeshifter falls asleep, the other half he gets fidgety and Andrew will have to call for a break for their partner to expel some energy. When he’s in his fox form, he usually can’t keep still and those paintings always take longer than when Andrew paints Jean in his panther form.

Today, Neil is actually quite subdued. Must have been the running around Jean indulged him in, that quelled him a bit. Jean will take his small victory, he decides and breathes deeply again, making Andrew glance at him curiously. Jean winks at Andrew, making his lips twitch and Jean settles into the soothing warmth as Andrew brushes paint onto the canvas and Neil's fingers scratch his side affectionately. Being with his two partners, his lovers, his mates, he feels at home.

 

~

 

“Drew…” Jean sighs when Andrew grabs another brownie from the plate on the counter he is sitting beside, Neil curled up beside him. “I’m almost done with dinner,” he scolds dryly, gesturing to the pan he is cooking in, a stir-fry that _Andrew_ asked for.

Andrew gives him an innocent look while cramming the entire brownie into his mouth and chewing slowly, drawing a fox’s equivalent of a laugh from Neil. Jean just rolls his eyes and shakes his head, using his cooking spoon to stir and checks on the rice they are having with it. He tries to not smile when Andrew pokes his leg with his socked foot until he hears Andrew swallow the ridiculously large bite and cough to clear his throat.

When he looks up, Andrew is a bit red in the face from choking and Neil flopped on his side, tail thumping on the counter as he fox-laughs at him. Is he sure wants to spend the rest of his life with these two idiots?

“ _Mon chou_ …” Jean groans and grabs a glass and fills it with tap water. “Small sips,” he orders, holding the glass up to his lover’s lips and strokes his hand through his blond hair as he does as told (for once). Andrew grabs the glass after his choking sounds subside, drinking it down a bit more eagerly.

“ _Merci_ ,” Andrew rasps and Jean rolls his eyes, kissing his forehead, making Andrew stare up at him wordlessly.

“ _Mon coeur, you are no better than him when it comes to restraint_ ,” Jean scolds, lips twitching as Neil squeaks, annoyed and flops onto his back with his paws curled in the air, tail wagging erratically. Jean and Andrew stare at him, both fighting smiles. “ _Yes, you are adorable, now get the dishes so we can eat dinner_.”

Neil whines and falls limp on his side, hiding most of his face in Andrew’s paint-stained pant leg, paw covering the rest. Andrew snorts and pets his auburn fur while Jean resumes cooking. It only takes a slight glance from Jean to make Andrew nudge Neil and the fox rolls off the counter like he had earlier, shifting on the way down.

Neil bounces over to the cabinet where the bowls are stored. “Are we eating at the table or-”

“The living room,” Andrew cuts in. “I’ll make sure the fire is all set.” He finishes his water and slides off of the counter, his fingers grazing Jean’s lower back on the way out.

Jean smiles down at the stir-fry in his pan and turns off the heat when Neil approaches with the dishes he asked for. Neil looks up at him with his big blue eyes and Jean gives Neil a gentle kiss that he is pouting for, making Neil light up the room with his smile before he helps prepare their dishes. Shortly after, the three of them curl up on the couch with their meals, Jean and Neil bookending Andrew between their nude bodies as they watch the large flat screen above the fireplace playing some random Christmas movie while they eat.

“Did you pull out the duck breast for Christmas Eve’s dinner?” Andrew asks when a commercial interrupts the movie, his fork clinking against the bottom of his bowl as he searches for a good bite. Jean adjusts his posture, enjoying the way Andrew’s knee presses against his thigh, the smell of Andrew, chocolate, and paint is thick. One of his favorite scents.

“Of course _mon chou_ , I did so this morning, which vegetables do you want with it?” Jean grins as he hears Neil whine at the mention of his least favorite thing to touch his taste buds. “You cannot escape it, Rouge, you need them. Andrew?”

Andrew snorts when Neil huffs and falls against him dramatically. “I bought carrots and three types of squash, some yams, broccoli, corn. Any of those are fine with me.”

“Neil you will be eating _some_ of the greens, I know you will eat the corn and carrots,” Jean doesn’t have to do more than turn his head to look over Andrew at Neil. It always amused him how small they are.

“But Sky…” Neil pouts. “It’s Christmas.”

“Very good, you know your holidays,” Andrew smirks. The commercials end and the movie plays again, the volume softer than the commercials’.

Jean shakes his head at Neil, the redhead huffing as he gives up and they finish their meals, setting the dishes on the coffee table. Jean shifts and stretches his long body out on the couch behind Andrew and Neil. Andrew’s lips lift slightly in a smile and he curls up against his muscular frame, burying his face in his fur. Neil shares a smile with Jean and shifts as well, laying on top of the small dip between Andrew and Jean’s bodies and Andrew pets his bushy tail.

“I bought plenty of fruit, Red,” Andrew comments when he removes his face from Jean’s fur. Jean nuzzles his hair and gives it a few licks, making it stick up. “Bought you those chocolate croissants you like from the pastry shop in town, too, Sky.”

Jean purrs softly at this and nuzzles him again, feeling warm and comfortable with his mates. Neil noses into Jean’s fur and lays his head on top of Andrew’s, eyes slipping closed. Andrew’s hazel eyes look close to shutting as well, despite watching the movie, practically sunken into Jean’s side, probably warm and content as Jean feels. Purring louder, Jean sets his head on his paws and closes his eyes, looking forward to more days like this to come.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all (Especially you Spud) enjoyed this little gem! It was an absolute pleasure to write! 
> 
> Thank you fuzzballsheltiepants for betaing!!!! <3
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments to let me know you think!
> 
> Love joooooooo!
> 
> Some notes from the Niko: Jean is obviously head of house. Andrew provides for his mates. Neil is the troublemaker that Jean tries to keep occupied while Andrew is in town. Andrew belongs to Jeaneil, not the other way around and he loves it. Andrew having a happier personality makes me very very happy.


End file.
